Coffin-protector.



No. 771,606. PATBNTED OCT. 4, 190 T. J. BROWN.

GOFFIN PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 11, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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I UNITED STATES Patented October 4, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

COFFlN-PROTECTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 771,606, dated October4, 1904.

Applieation filed November 11, 1903. Serial No. 180,719. (No model.)

To [LZZ whom, it may concern:

Ooifin-Protector, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for preventing the surreptitiousremoval of bodies from graves, and has for its object to simplify andimprove the construction of devices employed for this purpose and toincrease their safety and security Without increase of expense orcomplication of parts.

The invention consists in certain novel fea tures of construction, ashereinafter shown and described, and specified in the claims.

In. the drawings illustrative of the invention, in which correspondingparts are denoted by like designating characters, Figure 1 isatransverse section of a grave with thecoiiin and coffin-box therein,showing the improvements applied. Fig. 2 is a plan View in longitudinalsection on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents one of the tripattachments of the coffin-box in perspective'and disconnected.

The improved device may be applied to any of the various styles andforms of coffins or caskets and their boxes as ordinarily manufactured,and for the purpose of illustration a coiiin and its box of the usualform are shown, 10 representing the bottom, 11 the side walls and coverof the coflin, and 12 the inclosing box within the grave, so that anyattempt to box.

lateral shoulders 14 bearing against the inner face of the coffin-bottomand nuts 15 engaging the threaded ends of the Ushaped members on theexterior of the coflin. By this means the corpse is held within thecoffin and can be removed only by unscrewing the nuts 15, and as theseare beneath the coffin they can be reached only by removing the cofiinfrom the grave-box.

The means employed for securing the cofiin in the grave-box consists inone or more rods or bars 16, disposed within the coflin at or near thebottom 10 and with its ends extending through and projecting beyond thesides of the coffin.

Attached to the interior of the grave-box are small casings 17,preferably of metal, having inclined spring-tongues 18, beneath freeends of which the projecting ends of the bar 16 catch as the coffin isplaced within the grave- When the coffin is lowered into the grave-box,the projecting ends of the bar or bars 16 will automatically displacethe yieldable free ends of the spring-latches 18 and pass beneath them,the members 18 springing back to their normal position and effectuallypreventing the release of the bar, and the coffin is held thereby. Anydesired number of the rods or bars 16 and the catches 18 may beemployed; but generally one rod and two of the spring-catches, one foreach end of the rod, will be suiiicient.

The means employed for preventing the surreptitious removal of thegrave-box, with the coffin and corpsecontained therein, from the graveconsists of a plurality of stop-bars 19, hinged by their lower ends, asat 20, to the lower outer portion of the grave-box and extendingvertically and free to swing outwardly and adapted to project intocavities formed for them in the walls 21 of the grave. As the grave-boxis lowered into the grave the stop-bars will freely pass over the inte-I rior surfaces of the grave-walls and when they these simpleattachments the corpse is securely held in the coflin, the cofltinsecurely held in the grave-box, and the grave-box securely held in thegrave.

The members 13 will preferably be concealed by the garments of thecorpse, so that their presence will not be perceptible, and can be ofhardened steel to prevent them being severed by persons attempting tosurreptitiously remove the corpse. The members 13 will also serve assupports to hold the corpse against displacement while the coflin isbeing moved. The members 13 may be arranged over any desired portions ofthe body and any number employed, the parts forming the attachmentsbeing of any desired size or form and constructed of any suitable metalor other material.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. An attachmentfor coflins comprising a substantially U-shaped member adapted to span aportion of the corpse and having threaded ends for projection throughthe bottom of the cofiin and provided with shoulders for bearing againstthe interior of the coffin, and nuts engaging said threaded ends on theexterior of the coffin.

2. The combination with a coffin-box, of stop-arms attached to swingfrom its lower portion for engaging cavities in the side walls of thegrave.

3. A coflin havinga corpse-holding device, and means accessible at theunder side only of the bottom of the coffin to fasten the holderthereto.

4:. A coffin having a corpse-holding device which is provided withascrew-threadcd part piercing the bottom of the coffin and a nut fittedto the lower end of said portion and accessible from the under side onlyof the bottom of the coflin.

5. A device of the character described comprising in combination acofiin-box having spring-catches upon the interior thereof, and a coflinhaving external projections disposed to engage the catches on beinglowered into the box and have the catches snap over the projections tointerlock the coflin with the box.

6. The combination of a coflin-box having external means for locking thebox against removal from a grave, and also provided with internal meansfor locking the cofiin within the box, and a coffin having means forengage- Lnent with the coffin-locking means Within the 7. Thecombination of a coffin-box having external arms hinged at their lowerends to the box with their upper free ends adapted for engagement withcavities in the side walls of a grave, and also provided withcoflin-locking means within the box, and a cofiin having means forengagement with the coflin-locking means within the box.

8. The combination of a coffin-box having external arms hinged at theirlower ends to the box with their upper free ends adapted for engagementwith cavities in the side walls of a grave, and coffin-locking meansembodying spring-catches carried by the inner side walls of the box anda coflin having means for engagement with the spring-catches within thebox.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own 1 have hereto aflixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS JOHNSON BROWN.

Witnesses:

WALTER HAMILTON, GEORGE LINN.

